LCDs are used in various kinds of display devices. The LCD has advantages in that the LCD has a thickness small enough to be hung on a wall, and, in addition, the LCD can be manufactured into various sizes from a small-sized display device to a large-sized display device. Therefore, the LCD is being widely utilized in various products, such as computer monitors and televisions, including small-sized electronic products, such as mobile phones and portable multimedia players (PMPs). In the LCD, however, pixels constituting a picture do not perform a light emitting function. For this reason, a backlight unit is coupled to a rear of an LCD panel for the purpose of displaying a bright and vivid picture. In the backlight unit are mounted a plurality of lamps, which emit light such that the LCD can be brightly and vividly displayed.
To solve the above-mentioned problem, a backlight connector has been developed, which is disclosed in Korean Patent Application No. 10-2006-75246 and was filed in the name of the applicant of the subject patent application. Hereinafter, the construction and operation of this backlight connector will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6.
As shown in FIG. 6, the backlight connector includes a terminal 100 made of an electrically conductive material. The terminal 100 is provided at one side thereof with a fixing member 101, which is fixed to a circuit board (not shown) by soldering. The terminal 100 is provided at the other side thereof with a connection groove, in which a connection terminal 2 of a backlight lamp 1 is fixedly inserted. The backlight connector further includes a housing 200 for surrounding an outside of the terminal 100. The housing 200 has a backlight lamp receiving opening 201 defined therein. The backlight lamp receiving opening 201 is open at a top thereof. The housing 200 supports a corresponding end of the backlight lamp 1. The backlight connector further includes a cover 400 coupled to the housing 200 in such a manner that the cover 400 can be moved upward and downward. The cover 400 is open at a top thereof such that the end of the backlight lamp 1 is inserted into the cover 400. The backlight connector further includes a clip 300 coupled to the inside of the cover 400 in such a manner that the clip 300 can be moved upward and downward. When the cover 400 is moved downward and is coupled to the inside of the housing 200, the clip 300 forcibly inserts the connection terminal 2 of the backlight lamp 1 into the inside of the terminal 100.
Consequently, when the backlight lamp 1 is located at the top of the backlight connector, and then the cover 400 is pushed vertically downward, the clip 300 narrows, and, at the same time, the clip 300 is moved downward while the clip 300 is in tight contact with the connection terminal 2 of the backlight lamp 1. As a result, the connection terminal 2 of the backlight lamp 1 is moved downward and is forcibly inserted into the inside of the terminal 100. Therefore, it is possible to automatically couple the backlight lamp 1 to the backlight connector through the use of a simple pushing apparatus.
However, the number of components constituting the conventional backlight connector is large, and the structure of the backlight connector is very complex. Consequently, it is difficult to manufacture the backlight connector, and the assembly process of the backlight connector is very complicated and troublesome. Furthermore, when the clip 300 widens, during the coupling of the backlight lamp 1 to the backlight connector, the clip 300 is not brought into tight contact with the connection terminal 2 of the backlight lamp 1, with the result that a force necessary to forcibly insert the connection terminal 2 of the backlight lamp 1 is decreased.